Well, It’s here. Today is June 1st. Tonight will be my very first solo art show. I knew I wanted to do a solo show and I am glad it worked out that my first one is this fun of a theme. Why “DUOS” you ask? I’ll tell ya. It’s the “buddy” thing. It’s how much fun it is when you have a better half to get into shinanagans with. And even more fun to watch in movies, tv, theater, etc. It’s the way they bounce off each other. And how you sometimes think one is your favorite, and for some reason the next time you watch the movie, it’s the other one. I guess it depends on the mood. Sometimes Harry Dunn is funnier than Lloyd Christmas. It happens.

So obviously there is an entire universe of Duos to pick from. So I had the awesome challenge to narrow it down to my favorites. Once the theme was decided, it was my personal goal to produce 100 Duos to display in the show. Well, I’ll be the first one to tell you I failed. I had abut half that. Then I hit a lull, I had about a few weeks left and wasn’t sure who to do as the last min additions. After nerding our with a few of my friends about who the MUST HAVES are, that lit a fire under my ass and I sprinted towards the finish line with a whopping 69 Duos. For some reason, it just seemed like a fun number to showcase.

This process included the people around me throwing in their ideas about who I need to have. As good and as helpful as those ideas were, most did not meet my qualifications on ‘WHAT IS A DUO?”. To me, it’s more of what a Duo is not. If there the main thing that makes them a Duo is because they are in a relationship, that is NOT a duo. Sorry Ricky & Lucy Ricardo. And if the 2 are arch nemeses or they hate each other, but are always seen together, they aren’t a Duo either. Â But for example, Brennan and Dale from Stepbrothers hate each other, but the movie ends when they are friends. So it passes my strict demands. Another thing I had to deal with to narrow it dow was that if there was more than 2. For example, I couldn’t just pick John Lennon & Paul McCartney. I wouldn’t do that to George and Ringo. Another example of that is Ghostbusters. I had to represent it somehow, and luckily there were 2 characters from the film that would make a great Duo. Gatekeeper and Keymaster. (Lewis & Dana). And in the case of Harry Potter. I’d love to do Harry and Ron, but the hell I would break up that threesome with Hermione. I looked for things like that to make sure my requiremets were met. And don’t be surprised if someday I decide to add some more to this set. No reason not to. And if this show is a hit, a trio show might be in the cards. Lots of good trios out there as well. It’s friggin endless.

You still with me? OK then. Let’s see some art. Hope you like it. If you get a chance, head on down to the F+ Gallery in Santa Ana California. The show runs until early July. But it’s all about opening night, hope to see you there. Here is some important info for the pieces themselves. I only have 1 limited edition print per Duo for sale night of. First come first serve, starting at 7pm. Once that sells it is only available on the website. Thanks to Amy and Micah from F+ for helping me out with getting this show on it’s feet and giving it a great home. Going to kick ass.

It’s around the corner, and I was able to crank out 69 different duos for this show. If you are in the OC this Sat, June 1st be sure to stop by and enjoy the overdose of pop. I’ll be throwing some more sneak peeks up as we get closer, look out for that. OK Bye.

I’m not gonna lie, I have been bullshitting about doing a Calendar of my paintings for a long, long time. I’ve even tried to get other artists to work with me and do a collection of paintings for Calendar too, and no dice. There are so many good themes to do one with and I am lucky enough to had done enough art with a movie theme to put something great together. So this is it, I’ve been working on the graphics in what little free time I had since summer. And I am hoping people respond to it well. Maybe it’ll be a new tradition to knock one out every year at this time. But that is up to you guys.

So here is the Holiday plug… If you know someone who is in to classic cult movies like “Vacation”, “Back to the Future” or “Three Amigos” and want to give them something truly unique for Christmas, this is your gift. Especially if it is someone who doesn’t shut up from quoting “Anchorman”, “Caddyshack” or “Ghostbusters”, this is the gift for them. I put together a collection my paintings mixed with some movie tie-in graphics for each month. Each painting has been inspired from my favorite movies, some I grew up watching as a kid and know religiously, as well as some new favorites. The size of the Calendar is 10″ wide by 18″ long, and has a black high quality spiral binding at the top. I didn’t F around with this, it is just like something you would by in the store. I’m really proud of how this came out and if this is your thing, I think you would really enjoy it.

Ordering is easy, follow this link, or just email me at Sam@SamCarterArt.com. They are $25 each plus tax. And shipping is $5 bucks anywhere in the country. And if you order multiple I’ll cut you a deal, just ask. Thanks for checking it out and let me know what you think!

If you didn’t get a chance to grab any of my pieces from the 3B Show but wanted to, you kinda hit the jackpot. Got a good deal on those 3 prints. Let me know if you are interested. $15 each or all 3 for $30 plus tax & shipping. Not too shabby.

May 5th at first seemed so far away, but it came and went. The whole night seemed like it was about 10 minutes long. Thanks to everyone who made the long haul up to Venice. Thanks to Oscar for grabbing the folks from BTTF.com to get me an interview. Thanks to Steve Czarnecki for hooking it up on the BTTF website. It was awesome to finally meet the curator Joseph, AKA Chogrin, thanks for letting me a part of 3B, I keep wondering what 3 movies could be done next year. I really hope to do more shows with him and the talented group at the Autumn Society. I got asked to be a part of their next show “Shell Shock”, in Philadelphia. It’s themed to the one and only TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES. Ain’t nothing wrong with that. I’ve wanted to be in a Gallery 1988 show since I first checked it out at the 2nd Crazy For Cult on Melrose in 2008. I hope this is the first of many more shows like this for me. They always have the best collection of Pop Artists, each with their own style and vibe. I love everything about it. A truly, most excellent evening.

Here are a couple of paintings inspired by the classic 80â€™s movie â€œBill & Tedâ€™s Excellent Adventureâ€. This was one movie that I definitely grew up with. The weird thing being I havenâ€™t seen the original for a long time, but itâ€™s one of those movies where even though you havenâ€™t seen it for about 10 years, you can still quote it. Itâ€™s not the best movie by any means, which is what makes it so good. Not to mention George (friggin) Carlin is in it! The first painting was a stab at trying to do their faces as simple as possible. I usually tend to put too much detail and line work into my stuff. Iâ€™ve learned there is such a thing as too much. Bill S Preston Esquire was the fun one because his face is has a lot of distinct characteristics, plus no one has ever seen that actor since. But as for Ted (Theodor) Logan, since it was Keanu Reeves, I struggled a bit. I didnâ€™t want to do a portrait of Keanu, but tried more to get the vibe of his goofy carefree attitude, dude. Plus I through the phone booth in for good measure, inspired a little by Metallica’s Ride the Lightning. Really a time traveling phone booth? I guess it works because it is so ridiculous, like the movie. I, myself, would rather time travel in a DeLorean.

This next piece was something that came up after doing the first Bill & Tedâ€™s piece. When I entered my pieces in the 3B show at Gallery1988, the curator Chogrin mentioned it might be cool to see a pin up version of the Princesses from Bill & Tedâ€™s. SOLD!!! Awesome idea, and I went for it. This is my take on what those two â€œHistorical Babesâ€ that Rufus brought back from medieval times would do if they lived in the modern 1980â€™s. I also wanted to give subtle nods to the other time travelers so I through something for each of them in the frame. I thought about putting in something for Rufus, but I think he is more deserving to get his own painting. Add that idea to the list.